Pectin as cancer targeting nano-vehicle and therapeutic - Physicochemical-biological perspectives: A review.

Pectin is cytotoxic against colorectal/pancreatic/liver/bladder/prostate/ovarian/breast cancers. It induces apoptosis, antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, and immunoregulatory properties and mitigate the metastatic and angiogenic tendency of cancer involving MAPK and NFkβ signalling pathways. It has been found to act as a targeting ligand binding to cancer cells that overexpress asialoglycoprotein receptors and galectin adhesive molecules as a function of its galactan moiety. Its cancer targeting specificity can be further raised via incorporating additional targeting ligand (eg. folate). Nanoparticulation of pectin, in combination with its cancer cytotoxic and targeting actions, is envisaged to promote its therapeutic efficacy with adverse effects minimized. "Drug-free" pectin nanoparticles as cancer therapeutic evade concerns related to poor drug encapsulation, premature drug release and drug degradation/polymorphism/recrystallization. They however may encounter poor tissue/organ reachability, premature matrix dissolution, biodegradation, aggregation, protein corona formation, and cancer cell impermeability. Nano-to-microscale transformation of pectin nanoparticles and use of active technology partially resolve administration challenges against oral, pulmonary, and skin routes. Future development is imperative to confer the required physicochemical attributes by pectin and its nanoparticles to succeed their administration route-to-action site delivery.